1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to amusement devices or toys, and more particularly to construction toys that comprise a plurality of parts for assembling, disassembling, or relatively arranging the parts. More particularly, the present invention pertains to cushioned, pliable building construction materials which may be connected to a plurality of such building construction materials to form more complex structures such as toy forts or buildings that may be constructed, occupied for play, learning, and imagination, and then later disassembled.
2. Description of the Related Art
Youth are imaginative in their play and interactions. A fort can be used for a shelter, a play house, a castle, a dog house, and much more. Forts of many varieties are found in prior art, including U.S. Pat. No. Des. 34,354 by Miller, entitled “Toy Fort”; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 245,640 by Powell, Jr., entitled “Toy Fort”; U.S. Pat. No. 294,589 by Crandall, entitled “Toy Building Block”; U.S. Pat. No. 570,544 by Flye, entitled “Toy or Game Device”; U.S. Pat. No. 1,282,358 by Arden, entitled “Toy Fort”; U.S. Pat. No. 2,556,323 by Feigelman, entitled “Folding Toy”; the contents of each which are incorporated herein by reference. These patents all provide sets for building a toy fort, but are intrinsically limited to one design, limiting the possibilities of use.
Customizable design is found in kits, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,420 by Nelson, entitled “Building Toy Kit, Component Thereof, Method of Enhancing the Glow, Method of Packaging, and Package Thereof”, the contents which are incorporated herein by reference. This patent describes a building material in which the materials are connected by stacking. A more complex, interlocking, method of stacking is shown using serpentine building elements in U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,761 by Zohar, entitled “Interlocking Construction Elements,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference.
Stacking is improved upon by providing a more secure method of attachment, as seen in patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,282 by Ernst, entitled “Toy Cube Set,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference. This patent describes a cube created with an interior and exterior wall, connected to other cubes with a peg that connects through holes, allowing for a vast assortment of possible arrangements. U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,634 by Chang, entitled “Soft Brick Modular Building Construction Set,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, improves on this by offering a softer version made out of brick shaped foam blocks which connect together using Velcro™ brand or equivalent hook and loop strips on the fuzzy exteriors. The foam block construction increases the safety of the toy for all age groups.
An alternative is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,206,888 by Litzka, entitled “Deflectable Beam for Forming Curved Structures,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, which illustrates plastic beams that can be secured in any number of locations, allowing for more freedom in determining the exact size and shape of a curved structure when building. However, the twists and turns are necessarily limited by the material, and the construction allows for damage to the set as well as the child if one were to accidentally fall into the structure.
Another method of construction is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,960 by Bombaci, entitled “Rods and Tubular Connectors Having Means for Limiting Rod Insertion,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, which shows a method of construction using rods and connectors which accept a plurality of rods at various angles. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,598 by Lock, entitled “Toy Construction Set,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a building method comprised of tubes and a variety of connectors, allowing for different numbers of tubes to be connected at a variety of angles. A safer option is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,581 by Podgaiz, entitled “Building Toy,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference. This patent describes a flexible tubular building toy connected using fitted pegs that fit into the ends of the flexible tubular building unit as well as a connector unit. Undesirably, these patents each use multiple small pieces, which are readily lost.
The present invention seeks to provide an alternative which improves upon prior art by providing a cushioned, flexible building unit with a built in connector unit that allows for a plurality of connections at multiple angles.
Cushioned wire, enabling soft, customizable shaping is seen in early patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,392,024 by Couri, entitled “Article of Manufacture,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, which illustrates a material with a soft, pliable core and a cushioned outside, such as a rubber sponge sheath. Another approach is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,693,809 by Spencer, entitled “Hair Curler and Method of Treating Hair,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, which illustrates a wrapped, padded wire curler for delivery of shine enhancing oils.
Foam embodied wire is often known for use with the hair as early as U.S. Pat. No. 2,542,601 by Cleef, entitled “Hair Curler,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference. This patent describes what may be the origins of the toy “tuber” technology, old hair curlers with foam and wire. Additional patents illustrate alternate embodiments and methods of manufacturing, as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,006 by Collis, entitled “Hair Roller”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,414 by Fox et al., entitled “Bendable Lightweight Article for Personal Grooming and Method of Making”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,458 by Hollenberg et al., entitled “Foam Bodied Hair Curler”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,103 by Vick et al., entitled “Bendable Permanent Wave Rod Apparatus”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,428 by Stohr, entitled “Deformable Foam Curler”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,152 by Dutch, entitled “Hair Roller,” the contents of each which are incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,968 by Rivera, entitled “Permanent Wave Rod,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, is not only a cushioned, shapeable article for use in the hair, it provides fibers on the ends to engage each other, holding the wave rod engaged. U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,676 by Hamilton, entitled “Hair Curling Assembly,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, attempts a similar thing by having a strap to secure one end of the curler to the other, holding the hair engaged.
The flexible, form-retaining material in toys has a long history as well, including U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,687 by Munro, entitled “Form Retaining Stuffed Figurine,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, which can be stretched and will spring back to its original form. U.S. Pat. No. 3,176,431 by Richardson et al, entitled “Resilient Action Figure Toy,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, allows for stretching and compressing on all planes, making it more interesting and entertaining for youth. However, such devices lack the options for creativity and diverse uses found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,219,130 by Herrmann, entitled “Toy and Display Figure,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, which allows the user to readily configure the position of the figure of a gumby-esque wire core flexible toy. U.S. Pat. No. 3,395,484 by Smith, entitled “Doll Figures Having an Internal Wire Skeleton,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, illustrates an alternative flexible core toy. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,417 by Hillman, entitled “Flexible Tubular Toy,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference, is a cushioned wire which allows the user to alterably configure the shape.
Even more user creativity and choice is found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,738,616 by Windle, entitled “Tube toy,” the contents which are incorporated herein by reference. This patent describes liquid filled tubes which can be manipulated, twisted, or knotted during play. This design does not readily hold all manipulations, however. U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,190, entitled “Flexible Foam Construction Toy and Method of Manufacturing Same,” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,006, entitled “Flexible Foam Construction Set,” both by Ganson, the contents of each which are incorporated herein by reference, illustrate a foam construction set which allows for shaping and twisting of the flexible toy pieces. Connections and building using the foam construction toy is done through twisting together and/or around other units, or passing the variously sized and shaped components through holes in certain units. These, too, lack a connector which can solidly hold in place, regardless of rough play which can happen in instances where the fort is “under attack.”
Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition copyright 1983, is additionally incorporated herein by reference in entirety for the definitions of words and terms used herein.